The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) has appointed Robin L. Davisson, Ph.D., president and CEO-elect, effective Oct. 1.

Davisson, The Andrew Dickson White Professor of Molecular Physiology at Cornell University, brings to MRA more than 25 years of internationally recognized scientific research and deep engagement in graduate student and postdoctoral education and mentoring. Davisson has received some of the most prestigious research awards in her field, including the Arthur C. Corcoran Memorial Award for excellence in cardiovascular research from the American Heart Association. She was recently elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Additionally, she plays active leadership roles at various local and national nonprofit organizations.

Davisson recently served as the director of graduate studies of the Molecular and Integrative Physiology field at Cornell for seven years, and has held many other leadership positions at Cornell. Prior to joining Cornell, she was a tenured member of the faculty of the University of Iowa where she taught and researched neuroscience, cardiovascular physiology, and genomics.

Davisson’s engagement with MRA will be phased in gradually throughout 2015 and into 2016 as she fulfills her commitments at Cornell University.